some thoughts from Hafele’s Michael Farrugia

Häfele NZ Ltd have been part of the New Zealand architectural hardware landscape as far back as 1989 when it was first established as a fully fledged subsidiary under the leadership of Peter Farrugia as its first Managing Director. His brother Michael Farrugia joined the company in January 1990 as an 18 year old in customer services followed by a time in a purchasing role. Michael, who interestingly along with his brother, were born in Malta, helped establish the company’s Christchurch branch in 1996. In 1998 Peter was appointed to the role of Managing Director of Häfele Australia and Uwe Adam became the new NZ Managing Director while Michael became NZ General Manager. In January 2009 Michael became NZ Managing Director. In this our 100th issue, Bob Nordgren asked Michael about his time at the helm and his views on where Häfele is headed.

When the company was established here in New Zealand the model used was as a wholesale supplier and distributor. This has proved to be a very successful approach, what vision was there back then of where Häfele would go and is it there now or has the vision changed?

The vision has always been to bring a broad range of quality, innovative hardware solutions to the New Zealand market at a competitive price. The vision hasn’t changed and in fact the recent release of our new TCH catalogue is testament to this. We are constantly sourcing the latest innovations from suppliers around the globe and that’s what sets us (and our customers) apart with over 12,000 SKU’s available.

The Complete Häfele has been our signature catalogue from day one, and still a much loved reference to this day - featuring the full range of products available in New Zealand from around the globe across over 1500 pages. We have also released an ‘Ä Book’ catalogue in conjunction with the ‘Complete Häfele’. The Ä Book is designed and based around our commitment to service for our trade customers. We endeavour to have these items ready on hand when our customers need them, to ensure their business runs smoothly – which is very important to us.

Over the years our business has diversified slightly with involvement in the trades and commercial projects as well as in retail. It should also be remembered that some 20% of our current range we in fact manufacture in our own factories, for example our drawer systems.

An important aspect has been the role of ever evolving technology. How important has this process been in the architectural hardware industry in your view?

Technology has certainly impacted on Häfele’s product range. The Loox range of LED lighting systems is evidence of that impact. The Loox system today is a large part of our success in the NZ market and I can only see that growing with the Generation 5 system due for release in the last quarter of 2020. Loox 5 really starts to take us down the digital pathway with connections to smart home devices and so on.

It is no doubt a very competitive business you are in. How do you perceive competition as part of your role as head of Häfele here in New Zealand?

Competition is healthy in the New Zealand market. We are a small market but everyone is well represented just the same as in larger markets. Competition keeps us focused and is healthy for our customers in the sense we are always trying to be better and offer better solutions than one another, so in the end the customer benefits from this.

Häfele here in New Zealand as indeed it appears to all be around the world, stands on its own two feet, funding itself as a local branch if you like, how do you see the New Zealand operation in terms of Häfele worldwide?

Häfele New Zealand is an important subsidiary to the Häfele Group. In fact we sit just outside the top ten out of 38 subsidiaries worldwide. That’s not bad considering we are a country of just under five million people.

Handling change as a process is part of running a successful business. In your view what have been the big changes for Häfele over your time at the helm and what changes do you foresee coming?

The introduction of products like double wall drawers to our range back in the late 90’s was a game changer for our industry as was lighting in cabinetry, these two product ranges are very successful for us in the New Zealand market. The new Loox 5 system will move us into other areas of application with connections to smart

Michael Farrugia

home devices, etc. The purchase of the German architectural lighting company Nimbus recently confirms Häfele’s commitment and desire to explore the world of LED lighting technology. The amalgamation of the Loox and Nimbus ranges is something we are excited about for the future.

On an administrative level, the introduction of enterprise resource planning software from German software producers SAP some nine years ago was a significant challenge for the company. This software enables us to better manage all our business operations across procurement, manufacturing, service, sales, finance and human resources. It has made us a stronger company moving forward.